Remember MySpace? It was this ugly website where kids went to reveal too much about themselves, sometimes in musical form, occasionally in a way that sprouted into a career. Harmony Tour co-headliners The Maine and Never Shout Never — the former Tempe-based, the latter the professional handle of 20-year-old Missouri…
Song: Snake! Snake! Snakes!, “Thieves”Context: S!S!S! will be opening for Jimmy Eat World’s big Invented homecoming show this weekend where fans will get a download card for this track. Up On The Sun readers get it first. Thieves by Common Wall Media…
Built To Spill Marquee Theatre, Tempe Tuesday, October 26, 2010 Built To Spill’s Tuesday show at Marquee Theatre was one for the die-hards. While the hips kids paid upwards of $100 to watch Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz cartoon/art-rap spectacular down the theater formerly known as Dodge, a crustier sort gathered to…
Song: Built To Spill, “Pat”Context: BTS is scheduled to perform at Marquee Theatre tonight. Built to Spill – Pat…
There really is a plastic beach. Not with Lou Reed and a bunch of cartoons making hip-hop music — that’s just a fictional backdrop for the third Gorillaz record — but in the Pacific Ocean, where a soupy mixture of oceanic garbage has massed together to form something scientists have…
Song: Jimmy Eat World/Gorillaz Mashup: “If Jimmy Ate Gorillaz”Context: Gorillaz come to Dodge Theatre tomorrow night. I thought this mashup with local boys Jimmy Eat World was pretty cool. If Jimmy Ate Gorillaz (Jimmy Eat World vs. Gorillaz) by Austin Eterno…
Sufjan StevensMesa Arts CenterFriday, October 22. It didn’t take Sufjan Stevens long to bust out the banjo at his sold-out Mesa Arts Center show. The Detroit-bred, Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter picked up the instrument just after taking stage, opening with the title track from Seven Swans, which is both his most parred-down and…
Song: Sufjan Stevens, “The Age of Adz”Context: Sufjan Stevens’ show at Mesa Arts Center tonight is sold out. Guess people don’t hate The Age of Adz that much after all! Sufjan Stevens – The Age of Adz – 03 Age of Adz…
Back in May, when SB 1070 hysteria was at a fever pitch, Cuban-American rapper Pitbull jumped in the fray with both feet, canceling a show and issuing a statement in text-speak. “I am canceling my concert in Phoenix on May 31,” he wrote. “How is the country we enjoy and…
Song: Toubab Krewe, “Sirens”Context: Just got word that Toubab Krewe will be opening for the Yo Gabba Gabba! live show at Comerica Theatre in December. I wasn’t expecting to see them play Phoenix in support of TK2 since the Valley isn’t a hotbed for jazz-and-Afro influenced instrumental acts, so this…
How’s this for a video game plot: You’re trapped in an asylum that looks a lot like the asylum from the first flick in the Batman reboot. In fact, it looks so much like it that they even have The Scarecrow’s burlap masks! Anyway, you’re in there and weirdo doctors…
Song: Weezer, “The Good Life Context: I’m loving the re-issue of Pinkerton. They say my promo copy is water-marked, so I’ve resisted the temptation to upload one of the extra cuts myself. But, trust me, it’s worth buying. Weezer – The Good Life by jhowlett…
How’s this for a cool video to kick off a rainy Wednesday: Joey Burns of Tucson’s critically-acclaimed experimentalist alt-country outfit Calexico gives National Geographic magazine a tour of his town.He plays a song in Solar Culture, takes the crew by Cafe Poca Cosa and talks about the spirit of community…
Quick reminder: Indie Bowl, the annual charity bowling event featuring Phoenix scenesters rolling for the benefit of Local First Arizona, is this Sunday. There’s a veritable who’s who among the teams at the Psyko Steve sponsored event: The Rogue Bar, Hard Rock Cafe, Lost Leaf, Snake! Snake! Snakes!, Gospel Claws,…
Song: Jay-Z – Justify My Thug (Flaming Lips Mix)Context: This was the last song on The Black Album I still had rated below three stars on iTunes — before I heard this. The Flaming Lips have announced they’ll be playing The Soft Bulletin in it’s entirety on New Year’s Eve…..
Song: Sarah McGuinness, “Mama Can You See Me Now”Context: This song if off the soundtrack to Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story, which McGuiness wrote and produced on her own. 02 Mama Can You See Me Now (Original Version) by Matthew Walker…
Remembrance Day is Britain’s version of Veteran’s Day. It’s not on November 11, though, it’s observed the second Sunday of November. Well, actually it’s observed on 11/11, too, but just a little. Also, it’s not to be confused with Memorial Day, or with Britain’s version of Memorial Day, which is…
Song: Holy Fuck, “Stay Lit”Context: Just a reminder that the Holy Fuck/Indian Jewelry show at Rhythm Room Monday night is free. Used the savings to stay lit, like the songs says. Holy Fuck – Stay Lit by alexman9…
Luke HolwerdaThe National live at Marquee Theatre in Tempe.The NationalOctober 14, 2010Marquee Theatre in TempeThe National’s singer, Matt Berninger, has a reputation for performing drunk. It hasn’t been a huge problem — never leading to a canceled tour or even ruining a high-profile show as far as I know –…
Song: Sufjan Stevens, “I Want To Be Well”Context: I’m finally getting around to hearing the new Sufjan Stevens record while editing a feature on him for next week’s paper. Am I the only one that noticed you could slip an of Montreal song in the middle of The Age Of…
Remember when Henry Rollins was the best punk rock apologist ever? His spoken word shows were funny, intimate, and inspiring. His stories and jokes were still new to you. That was a great era, indeed, but now he’s a sickly-looking old hypocrite with terrible tattoos.So now there’s a new guy…
Milwaukee singer-songwriter Peter Mulvey has an odd gimmick: He rides his bike on tour. Like, across state lines and stuff. He’s apparently biked around to about 120 shows over the last three years and will be cycling into Cave Creek on Saturday, October 30 for a show at the new…
